Annual and Lifetime Caps
There are annual and lifetime caps that apply to the income-tested care fee for Home Care Packages. Once these caps are reached you cannot be asked to pay any more. The government will pay these fees once you reach these caps.
There are two annual caps that may apply in-home care (applied at a daily rate):
- If your income is equivalent to a part pensioner ($58,500.00 and below) your fee will be capped at $6,543.66 a year or $17.97 per day (as of September 2023)
Plus:
- If your income is equivalent to a self-funded retiree (more than $58,500) your fee will be capped at $13,087.39 a year or $35.95 per day (as of September 2023)
You can review the full schedule of Fees and Charges of Home Care as put out by the Department of Health here
The maximum income-tested care fee you may be asked to pay over your lifetime is $78,524.69 (September 2023). Any means-tested care fees you pay in residential care will also be counted towards the lifetime cap.
It is important to be aware that these annual and lifetime caps cross over to aged care costs such that you cannot be asked to pay a means-tested fee in an aged care home if you have already hit the limit.
Jill Donaldson
agedcare101 Physiotherapist
(Separate conditions apply if you receive a pension which is not means-tested, such as a blind pension, a war widow pension or a widower Pension. You will have to submit an Aged Care Fees Income Assessment (SA456) form which you can find here.)
In Summary:
Check once completed
- The basic daily fee does not count towards annual and lifetime caps
- Annual and lifetime caps only apply to the income-tested care fee
- Fees paid under the Commonwealth Home Support Program don't count towards the Home Care annual and lifetime caps
- The annual cap is transferable between the Home Care Package program and residential aged care
